I’m continuing the throwback posts because I’m having quite a great time sharing them with you! This is likely going to be one of the last Essie Spring throwbacks that I’m going to share with you this year, but I will try to continue with throwbacks of Summer collections next.
2008 is quite a fun time because it is the era when beauty blogs were getting really big. It was therefore relatively easy to still find swatches of this collection. You can find Temptalia’s original swatches over here, for example. This Spring 2008 ‘In the mood’ collection has a ‘romantic’ theme consisting of six shades. Just like in previous collections I have shown you, sheer shades for spring were still a thing. It’s quite strange because in spring 2008 Essie also released a bridal collection consisting of sheer shades. You would expect Essie to grow tired of sheer shades at some point, but she didn’t!
The In the mood collection consists of the following colors:
- Great Expectations (a sheer grey shimmer)
- Hard to Get (a pink creme)
- Hi Maintenance (a sheer pink)
- Looking for Love (a sheer lilac)
- Secret Affair (a nude shimmer)
- Body language (a grey creme)
I was able to get my hands on four out of six colors. I’m missing Great expectations and Looking for love.
Essie Secret affair
Out of all the throwback shades I have swatched, this is probably one of my favorites. My bottle of Essie Secret affair is a light nude with a very fine shimmer. I first didn’t notice it, but I think my bottle has changed color slightly because originally it was a more pink-leaning nude (you can find a picture over here on Temptalia). I like the not-changed version better, but the color it has now is also interesting.
The formula was easy to apply (especially considering it’s an older polish), but it still took me four coats to reach this level of opacity. I don’t have any dupes in my collection for the color it has now, but Essie Hello world seems to be pretty close to Secret affair’s original color.
Essie Hard to get
Essie Hard to get is an interesting one. The color I own is a light pink creme. However, in original swatches I have found that it used to be a darker pink (closer to Essie Mod square). I’m not the only one who noticed this, because already back in 2011 an article was released about the two versions of Hard to get. I’m pretty sure that Hard to get is a medium pink, but changes within a couple of years to a light pink. Hard to get wasn’t immediately discontinued, but it is discontinued now.
The formula was not that great. I did four coats for the pictures because at three coats I still saw dark spots.
If you’re looking for a modern-day dupe I would recommend Essie Air spun fun, which has a much nicer formula. If you’re looking for a dupe closer to the original medium pink color, I would probably go for Essie Mod square.
Essie Hi maintenance
Essie Hi maintenance is still part of Essie’s permanent collection in the US. Here in Europe, it was released as part of last year’s advent calendar. It is the only color from this collection that is still available today. The color is a sheer cool-toned light pink. It’s not as sheer as sugar daddy, but it will probably never be completely opaque. I’m wearing three coats in the picture, and I’m quite happy with the look.
You can still find Hi maintenance over here on Amazon (affiliate link).
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Essie Body language
Finally, this is Essie Body language. It’s quite a bit different from the other shades in this collection since it is a light grey creme. I have the feeling that this is quite a ‘modern’ choice of colors, considering most of Essie’s spring collections consist of pinks.
The formula of Body language was not great. I had to use three coats, but the formula was very thick. The closest shade that is still available today is probably Essie Sand Tropez. I do like the color, but I don’t think I will reach for Body language often because of the horrible formula.
Conclusion
The Essie In the mood collection is not my favorite Essie throwback collection that I have swatched. It is also not the worst collection. I think it is interesting to see because I think in this collection Essie is transferring from only sheer shades to more creme shades. At the same time, it is also a bit of a boring collection. Not much is going on, and there are not many interesting colors.
The only shade I wish they would have kept is Secret affair, just because I think it would have been a nice addition to Essie’s current permanent collection. To be honest, I would be able to live without the other shades, and don’t think I would have missed those. Hi maintenance is nice, but it’s not super unique.
If you’re curious about other throwback collections I have swatched, also check out these posts:
